Cowen, Myers not alone in struggles

With the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres playing a home-and-home series this week, there will be plenty of attention on two struggling young defencemen.

Jared Cowen and Tyler Myers are both former first-round picks who had solid rookie seasons in the National Hockey League, but, since then, have watched their stocks sharply decline.

Myers’ struggles seemed to coincide with signing a seven-year, $38.5-million U.S. contract in September 2011. Cowen missed the start of training camp this season because of contract talks, but has looked like a shell of his former self after signing a four-year deal worth $12.4 million.

Myers and Cowen were drafted in the first round in 2008 and 2009, respectively, and they have plenty of company when it comes to disappointments from those two classes. Here are 10 other young defencemen who have struggled after being first-round picks in those years.

1. Colton Teubert:

When the Los Angeles Kings selected Colton Teubert with 13th overall in 2008, they assumed he would anchor their blueline along with Drew Doughty for years to come. While Doughty has lived up to expectations, Teubert was unceremoniously traded away to the Edmonton Oilers, for whom he appeared in only 24 NHL games. The 23-year-old signed in the German Elite League this past off-season and it’s doubtful he’ll ever return to the NHL.

2. Luke Schenn:

Luke Schenn had trouble adjusting to life as a young defenceman under a microscope in Toronto, where each mistake was magnified. The struggles have accompanied him to Philadelphia, where he is playing less than 16 minutes per night and was a healthy scratch on multiple occasions last month. Not only has Schenn yet to live up to his fifth-overall selection in 2008, but he was also traded for James van Riemsdyk, who has blossomed into a productive winger for the Maple Leafs.

3. David Rundblad:

He is with his third NHL organization after being a first-round pick of the St. Louis Blues in 2008. After a brief stop in Ottawa, the 23-year-old has appeared in only 18 games with the Phoenix Coyotes over two seasons and has regularly been a healthy scratch in Dave Tippett’s tenure as coach. The Senators’ decision to trade Rundblad for centre Kyle Turris looks better with each passing day.

4. Dmitri Kulikov:

The Florida Panthers made Kulikov a first-round pick in 2009, five spots after the Senators took Jared Cowen. Like the young Ottawa blueliner, Kulikov has struggled to find consistency and trade rumours started to swirl last week after he was made a healthy scratch under new Panthers coach Peter Horachek.

5. Calvin de Haan:

The Ottawa native has struggled with injuries and inconsistency. No defenceman drafted in the first round in 2009 has played fewer NHL games than de Haan, who has appeared in just four. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who was taken by Phoenix just six spots ahead of de Haan, has more than 200 games of NHL experience.

6. Michael Del Zotto:

The young New York Rangers defenceman appears to be falling into the same trap as Cowen and Myers, struggling to live up to his new contract. Del Zotto had a fairly tense negotiation with Glen Sather over the summer and has faltered under Alain Vigneault. His ice time has fallen by five minutes a game under the new head coach and the first-round pick from 2008 is often mentioned in trade rumours.

7. Tim Erixon:

He created waves when he refused to sign with Calgary after being their first-round pick in 2009. He threatened to go back into the draft two years later, forcing the Flames to trade him to the Rangers. He was then sent to Columbus in the deal that brought Rick Nash to New York. He has been recalled by the Blue Jackets, but his inability to crack their opening-game lineup makes some wonder if he was worth the hype.

8. Tyler Cuma:

The Minnesota Wild made Tyler Cuma a first-round pick in 2008, but the former Ottawa 67’s standout has appeared in only one NHL game. Considering the Wild passed on John Carlson, who went four picks later to Washington and has 264 NHL games on his NHL résumé, it’s hard to not view Cuma as a disappointment so far.

9. Ryan Ellis:

He had a standout junior career, winning back-to-back Memorial Cup titles with Windsor and a gold medal with Canada in the world junior championship. He was a dominant offensive force, which was why the Nashville Predators selected him 11th overall in 2009, but there were always questions about his size and strength, and, so far in his NHL career, Ellis has scored only six goals in 92 games.

10. Jake Gardiner:

Perhaps he’s just trapped in Randy Carlyle’s doghouse, but Toronto’s first-round pick from the 2008 draft has yet to find consistency at the NHL level. He spent a good deal of last season in the American Hockey League and often creates frustration for coaches with some of his on-ice decisions.